Globalisation, Social Justice and Development

Description

This course concentrates on the ways in which social change happens at the global level and explores how different societies are influenced and challenged by such changes. It provides students with key insights into the economic, political, and social implications of globalisation for social justice and development. The course considers the impacts of globalisation at the local, national, and international scale. Topics and methods are drawn from the disciplines of sociology, economics, politics, and geography. It helps students to analyse the consequences of major globalisation processes (such as the transnationalisation of policies, ideas, ideologies, and population movements) for human development and the role of powerful agents like international organisations and states underlying these processes. Students will also explore the root causes of new global risks and crises (such as global inequality, global poverty, global financial crises, conflicts, and the violation of human rights, democratic deficit, and environmental degradations) and work towards the proposition of alternatives and solutions based on a new notion of global social justice.

Availability

Ourimbah

Semester 1 - 2015

Callaghan

Semester 1 - 2015

Learning Outcomes

1. Explain major globalisation processes and global transformations

2. Develop analytical framework in order to research major social and welfare problems at the global/international level.

3. Critically analyse the effects of globalisation on economic growth, income distribution, poverty, education, health, social care, and the environment.

Content

This course will critically review the mainstream theories of globalisation in terms of their ability to explain global social changes and their unprecedented challenges to human development, welfare, and rights.

The course discusses case studies from both the global North and global South in order to improve the capacity of students for analysing the social consequences of globalisation for different communities. Among the key issues examined in this course are global crises (of food, fuel, and finance), climate change, global warfare, conflicts and violence, global inequalities, immigration, health inequalities, and economic insecurity.

The course takes an interdisciplinary approach, combining perspectives from sociology, political science, welfare studies, international relations, geography, and cultural studies. Finally, by drawing upon critical interpretations of globalisation and the situated viewpoints of oppression and resistance among marginalized people, the course opens up an alternative angle towards understanding current global changes and the provision of social justice.